Sylvia Masiulionis, Downers Grove South check off another box, snap Willowbrook’s 29-game WSC Gold win streak

DOWNERS GROVE – Sylvia Masiulionis has a tried and true strategy for handling the most stressful moments in a volleyball match.

“I always take a deep breath before an important point,” said Masiulionis, Downers Grove South’s senior outside hitter.

She delivered in that moment Tuesday and sent Downers Grove South to another milestone win in a season of them.

Masiulionis had back-to-back kills, the second on set point, to turn away visiting Willowbrook’s late comeback in the first set.

Downers Grove South took that momentum and ran with it, beating Willowbrook 27-25, 25-18 in a matchup of conference leaders and snapping the Warriors’ 29-game West Suburban Gold winning streak dating to 2019.

The Mustangs (15-8, 4-0), on track for their first winning season since 2019, checked off another significant box with the win.

In September, Downers Grove South beat Lyons Township in three sets, the first time Mustangs coach Madisen Babich had beaten her alma mater.

This time, they topped a Willowbrook team that’s won the last four Gold titles.

“We know we have the physical skill and we have the talent. What we have been working on is the mental side of the game,” Babich said. “Now that we know that we can hang with these top schools we are ready to take on anyone.”

The first set was back and forth with Downers Grove South’s biggest lead at 7-2 and Willowbrook’s biggest advantage at 18-15. The Mustangs looked in command up 23-20 after a Jayda Dixon back-row kill and Willowbrook hitting error, but the Warriors (16-4, 3-1) turned away two Downers Grove South set points, tying it 24-24 on a block by Louisville recruit Hannah Kenny.

Kenny’s kill denied Downers Grove South a third set point, tying it 25-25, but Masiulionis answered with a hard smash for the lead and wrapped up the set with a deftly hit crosscourt shot.

How did Masiulionis keep her cool amid the lost lead?

“Volleyball is a game of mistakes. It doesn’t matter if we lose a point, we can get the next one. We communicate and tell each other that,” Masiulionis said. “We played loose. We knew we wanted to beat them. That was our motivation. We pushed hard and tried to work together to get the points back.”

No surprise to Babich to see Masiulionis come through in the clutch.

The four-year varsity player leads Downers Grove South in kills and has been the Mustangs’ go-to player since teaming up with senior setter Alex Barcenas on varsity.

“She is one of our senior captains for a reason. All season she’s been leading us in kills and stats across the board,” Babich said. “Every team that scouts us knows she is our go-to. I don’t think that will change.

“Sylvia and Alex since freshman year have been on varsity. They understand our expectations and standards. It’s great to see them get everyone else to buy in.”

Downers Grove South carried the momentum into the second set, never trailing again after Willowbrook scored the first two points.

With the Mustangs leading 14-11, Masiulionis had a tip kill and a kill through a Willowbrook block to spark a 7-0 run that all but put away the match.

Barcenas had 22 assists, Masiulionis had 10 kills and Dixon contributed nine kills for Downers Grove South. Keegan O’Keefe had 12 digs.

“Once we beat a team the first set, our energy is always a lot higher going into the second set,” Masiulionis said. “It riles us up.”

Willowbrook coach Irene Mason, whose team had its five-match winning streak snapped, never quite saw the team she’s grown accustomed to watching.

“Our serve receive was not what it’s been, our energy was flat, we were in slow motion,” Mason said. “I don’t know what it was but we didn’t look like us. When we’re on, we’re confident and compete and can beat anybody. None of that was happening tonight.”

Willowbrook continues to be without senior outside Anna Marinier, sidelined since the first week of the season with a shin injury. Mason hopes to have her back by the postseason. Mason has moved Kenny around from hitting six rotations to setting.

Kenny had seven kills, seven assists and nine digs, Lily Javier had five kills and six digs and Kendall Norton contributed six assists for the Warriors.

“We’ve tried different things. We’ve had games where [Kenny] hit, had games she set, today she did both,” Mason said. “She is doing everything she can, as much as she can. We need some more people to step up and join the fun.”